


A Needed Vacation

by BattyBlues



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: let batman rest, so is the justice league, superman is mentioned like once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 20:50:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15915999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BattyBlues/pseuds/BattyBlues
Summary: Bruce Wayne needs a vacation and Duke Thomas needs to be appreciated. Why not make a story about both.





	A Needed Vacation

**Author's Note:**

> This started off as Bruce Wayne needs a vacation and then somehow ended up as a Duke Thomas appreciation story. Both of which are important. DC stop being cowards and let Bruce appreciate and love his children. 
> 
> But, uh, yeah here you go.

“Oh, Alfred did you pack-”

“Master Bruce if I may, I’ve lived long enough helping you with these… occupations of yours to know to be fully prepared for anything and everything. Especially for vacations. Specifically for vacations, might I add.” 

Standing in the living area of the Wayne Manor was Bruce, Alfred, and all of his sons whether they were adopted or 'taken in' as the latest news report claimed them to be. Unlike his usual and customary black and white suit, Alfred was in a tropical yellow button up, with pineapples littered across it, and tan beach shorts. A dark pair of shades rested on his head. The raised brow he gave Bruce was an indicator that he was more than ready to leave. 

Bruce Wayne, adorned in something similar except his button up was plain white, chuckled and ran fingers through his hair, careful to pat down any strands he may have messed up. “You’re right. Sorry Alfred. It’s just… been awhile.” 

“Yeah. Too long actually.” Dick chimed in, leaning on the couch. He had a list in one hand, no doubt a grocery list of things to stock up for the weekend. He was put on babysitting duty and figured now was better than ever to have some quality bonding time… And by quality bonding time, it meant Jason and Tim convinced him that a house party was a good idea. 

It should be fine so long as they cleaned up after. 

Sipping a Caprisun next to him, Jason nodded in agreement before adding. “Yah, any later you’d probably implode. Or ‘become one with the darkness’.” 

This caused Tim to laugh and nod. “He’s one step closer to saying something ridiculous like ‘Bruce Wayne is just a mask, I am nothing more than-” He stopped himself before saying ‘Batman’. Bruce had a rule about talking about it outside of the Cave, because of paranoia that they were being watched of course. But it didn’t matter because Jason and Dick were cracking up nonetheless at Tim’s ‘scary Bat’ impression. Even Duke couldn’t help but snicker off to the side near Alfred.

“Spot on Timmy.” Dick wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

Bruce playfully rolled his eyes and uncrossed his arms to grab the handle of the suitcase next to him.

The youngest of the bird bunch sat, perched on the edge of the couch addressing Jason who was still cracking jokes with Tim. “Todd is that one of my caprisuns I specifically asked Pennyworth to get me?” 

Jason glanced at the drink and then at Damian. With an unblinking stare, he took a long, long sip until it was completely empty. “Hm? Oh. Nah.” 

Damian narrowed his eyes, looking as though he was prepared to pounce. However it was interrupted by Dick’s sudden hair ruffle, making Damian glare at him instead. “Not to worry little bird. I’m in charge for the weekend and we’ll most definitely get some more for you.” 

“Tch…” The youngest Robin seemed to be content with the answer… for now anyways. “Father, how come Thomas gets to go on vacation with you and not us?” Duke was still standing off to the side near Alfred, wearing something similar to Bruce and holding the handle of his suitcase.

Alfred cleared his throat, taking the opportunity to answer. “Last I recall Master Damian, you claimed that it would be a waste of time not training on this vacation. And frankly, wasting time is the very purpose of this vacation. I’ll be sure of it.” He shot a glance at Bruce, who could only give an 'innocent' look. 

“I get it Alfred, I swear. No working while we’re out.” 

“And frankly,” Alfred added, “Master Duke has caused the least amount of trouble out of you boys. Meaning, the least likely to bring trouble as well.”

“Yeah, he’s got a point.”  
“That’s fair.”  
“Tch.”

Jason on the other hand snickered and walked over to Duke, throwing an arm around his shoulders. “Bah, give it time. He’ll be rolling with the bad boys in no time.” With a snort he quickly corrected himself. “Bad boys and Dick to be exact.”

“Wow Jay, I’m hurt. I can’t be apart of your Cool Kids club now?”  
“There’s not a cool bone in your body and you know it. You’re even wearing a frilly apron right now.”  
“Hmm, sounds like something people without brownies say…”  
“Wh- Hey! Alright! I was joking! You can be apart of the club! You can even be the co-leader!” 

Bruce, Alfred, and Duke watched the boys jump up from where they were to follow Dick into the kitchen. The oldest gave a slight wave behind him. “Alright guys, have fun on your vacation! We’ve got Wayne Manor covered.” The boys stopped their pleading for pastries to offer goodbyes as well. And soon after, they were gone- though their voices could still be heard from the kitchen.

It fell quiet, leaving Duke, Bruce, and Alfred to themselves. “Ready when you are sirs.” The butler took the last remaining suitcases; Bruce’s and Duke’s, heading to the car parked and waiting for them. 

Duke quietly began to follow Alfred out, only to pause and look over at Bruce. The man was standing there with a faint smile on his lips, surveying the scene as the boys ran off. It reminded the newest ‘bat prodigy’ that these moments were rare and few for them. The boys didn’t always see eye to eye, and sure they fought a lot of the time, but every now and then there were these quiet moments that Bruce got to witness and be happy about. And from what Duke saw, Bruce Wayne was never happy- at least outwardly. It made the kid straighten up and speak, softly as to not break the trance Bruce was in. 

“Are… you sure you want me to go?” Duke’s gaze faltered when Bruce looked at him with a raised brow. “On this trip. Are you- Are you sure you don’t want to take… you know, one of them?” Suddenly, Bruce’s gaze felt piercing and Duke felt the need to explain himself in full. It wasn’t intentional- Duke knew this, but he was just still learning the ‘Bruce Wayne Looks’. “I-I mean, you don’t get to relax with them often and you always seem… I guess stressed about them. And I dunno… I just got here… I didn’t do anything to really deserve a sudden vacation.” 

It fell quiet for a few moments, but to Duke it felt like hours. The ticking clock tower off to the side didn’t help much either. But suddenly there was a firm hand on his shoulder. Duke looked up to see a new look on Bruce’s face. One that he was sure he hadn’t seen before. It was… soft. 

Not stoic.

Not angry. 

Not unreadable.

It reminded Duke of when his own dad would look at him right before he would say something like ‘You’re such a smart boy.’ or ‘You’re gonna be even greater than you are now.’

He missed his parents… He missed his home. And somehow this sudden look from Bruce reminded him of all of that. But before he could spiral into sadness, Bruce’s voice broke that train of thought.

“You and I… We both need this trip.” It was easy to see Bruce was trying to figure out the right words to say. “It has nothing to do with ‘deserving’ anything. You’re no less welcomed into this family than any of the boys are-” Bruce chuckled lightly. Duke didn’t think he knew how to laugh. “Than any of the prodigies I’ve taken it.” Bruce corrected himself, making Duke crack a small smile. There sure were a lot of the ‘Bat Fam’ as Jason and Dick coined them. “I don’t want you to feel left out just because you’ve just moved in… Even if the boys don’t show it often, they all appreciate you being here.”

“...Well I do appreciate Damian not threatening me constantly.”

Bruce chuckled again. “He likes you.” 

There was another pause as Duke tried to figure out his thoughts, while Bruce tried to figure out what to say.

“I…” Duke started slowly. “Thank you for taking me in Bruce. You didn’t have to. It’s just been… Since my parents-” The words caught in his throat and they felt as if they were twisting and tying together so he couldn’t speak anymore. 

‘A thank you is enough’, Duke thought, only to follow with a firm nod.

With and without words, Bruce could see the emotional turmoil clouding Duke’s thoughts. He could tell because it happened with Dick. And it happened with Jason. And, of course, it happened with him. The pain of losing family was something he wouldn’t let Duke deal with alone. Not while he was around to help. But during his short time apart of the Wayne family, Bruce realized that maybe Duke didn’t want to deal with it the same way he or the others did. 

Bruce was considerate, adaptive, and smart; but he was still learning. 

Duke didn’t always want to be in the small crowd of bats and robins, nor did he want to meet the various other heroes when offered the chance. Bruce learned early on that he couldn’t treat all of his children the same way, but with each child he adopted (Bruce would say ‘took in’, but everyone on the Justice League continued to say adopted) there were new things he had to learn and new ways he needed to adapt. This particular time, with Alfred’s help of course, he tried something new. 

Technically, it wasn’t very new, Bruce was just bad at it when he first started… gathering Robins. Being ‘softer’ with Duke was a little challenging, given his rough exterior… and interior, and well, general being, but he noticed the more subtle differences when he tried. 

With Jason, he’d bark orders that had no real malice, just frustration because of the sass that was inevitable to follow. But in the end, Jason would listen and things would be fine. And on a bad day they’d stubbornly argue for at least three days. 

With Tim, it took a debate, a bribe of a few cups of coffee, and maybe a forceful shove to get him to stop working. But in the end, Tim knew Bruce cared for his health more than Gotham’s night life.

With Damien, sometimes a stern no was needed, or even a ‘timeout’ from stakeouts. Damian still had to learn that he wasn’t invincible, but at least he knew that his father wanted him to be safe.

And Dick? Well, Dick did what he wanted and usually things turned out fine. He was an adult now and even Superman was impressed by the young man’s talent. He knew Bruce was proud of how far he had gotten.

Duke Thomas was nothing like these boys and Bruce was well aware of it. Having a kid not be outright stubborn to him was new. He learned quickly that there were no need for ‘timeouts’, no need for debates, and barking orders only made him apprehensive and less interested in completing the task. With Duke Thomas, Bruce would speak calmly. He’d pat him on the back as a sign of a job well done. 

He reassured Duke that things were okay. 

As a man once clouded by the thoughts that his parents’ deaths were his fault, he felt had to reassure Duke that things were okay- or at least, they were going to be. 

“You’ve never been out of Gotham, have you?” Bruce watched as Duke quietly shook his head. “Well then, it’s the perfect excuse to take you on vacation, don’t you think?” Bruce placed his hand on Duke’s back, nudging him to the door. “You’re a good kid Duke. And… I know things have been tough- adjusting with us. But… thank you. For trying… It takes a lot to try… And we- I didn’t bring you here so I could replace what you lost. I can’t do that. But I can give you some sort of… hope… some solace that the dark doesn’t last forever. Or at least… I can try.”

It fell quiet again, with Duke looking at bookshelf off to the side, and with Bruce silently hoping what he said had helped. 

“It… takes a lot to try.” 

Duke’s small smile of encouragement made Bruce nod in kind. 

It was a quiet moment of understanding. One, learning that the light at the end of the tunnel wasn’t something to run from; and the other being reminded that no matter how many kids he took in and no matter what their situation had been he was always going to love them- and he was going to try his damndest to take care of each one.

“Master Thomas I do believe you’ll love Hawaii. It was Master Bruce’s favorite ‘mini getaway’ spot as a child.” Alfred spoke in a calm delight. He had waited by the car door and spoke the moment he saw the two walking out. 

“It still is.” Bruce commented as he ducked his head to get into the car.

“And yet here we are, never getting to go on vacations.” Alfred’s sass didn’t go unheard. And hearing Duke snicker behind him made the butler smirk a bit. “Maybe with your help Master Duke we can get him sipping mimosas in Kauai every weekend.” 

“I don’t know what… either of those are but it sounds like a fun challenge.”

“Atta boy. We’ll plan after vacation.” 

As the three were driven off to the airport, Duke watched as Wayne Manor had gotten farther and farther away. 

It was a large, new, and intimidating home… But it was a home nonetheless.


End file.
